Just a day after the Security and Exchange Commission (SEC) warned stock trading and investment platforms like Bamboo, Rise, Trove, and Chaka among others against selling securities of foreign companies listed on Securities Exchanges outside Nigeria, the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has now ordered non-banking institutions in the country from using the Bank Verification for validation of its customers.

This was made public via an email Paystack and non-banking institutions sent to its customers informing them about the new regulation.

Paystack said, “We’ve recently been made aware of a regulatory directive from the primary custodian of Nigeria’s BVN service to all their partners to suspend the provision of the BVN validation service to their third-party partners. This directive affects every non-bank in Nigeria that offers BVN validation service.”

The company said in line with the development, it has temporarily suspended its BVN validation service effective midnight of April 8, 2021.

Before this new directive, the CBN AML/CFT Regulation 2018, allowed Banks and other companies to use Bank Verification Number (BVN) as forms of identification for users who wanted to open an account.

In line with the aforementioned, all institutions or customers who want to open an account or have a business relationship with a bank or other non-banking institution shall provide proof of address, while operators of the account shall be required to provide other forms of identification, such as international passport/driver’s license/national identity card and Bank Verification Number (BVN).

This is no longer possible for non-banking institutions and they have to find other means to perform their Know Your Customer (KYC). The visible and most immediate alternative is the National Identity Number which is the closest thing to the BVN.

Surprisingly, the CBN is yet to release an official statement on the new regulatory policy.

Source: https://innovation-village.com/cbn-stops-non-banking-institutions-from-providing-bvn-validation-services/

Great

I'm wowwwed

This means if you must do business with non-banking entities, you must supply your NIN.

It's a smart move if you ask me. At least, persons can now be captured in the national database for business, planning and security purposes. I would love this to be extended by INEC to our voting processes.

It will make the process more open and transparent, thus restoring the faith of the masses in our electioneering processes.

The parochial attitude and apathy of the masses towards governance and decision-making processes is one major disease that is killing our dear nation.